But the one who was even more shocked was Li He. Although he felt Ye Xuan was losing ground against his Celestial Net Circle, seemingly on the verge of defeat, the astonishment in his heart was impossible to suppress.

The Celestial Net Circle was the treasure that had made his name. While he had never killed a Martial Sect with it, he had slain numerous Tier Four Celestial Martial Artists, including two at Tier Four Peak.

But now, his Celestial Net Circle couldn’t even handle a junior disciple.

If he hadn’t suffered that minor loss at Ye Xuan’s hands at the very beginning, he might not have deployed the Celestial Net Circle out of pure rage. But looking at it now, if he hadn’t, dealing with Ye Xuan would have been far from easy.

’How can this Ye Xuan be so formidable?’ He looked to be less than twenty years old. Not only was his skill in Soul Refining terrifying, but his actual combat strength was also monstrously incredible?

Li He couldn’t imagine how the Liuyun Kingdom had produced such a genius. A talent like this would likely be considered among the absolute top tier, not just in the Thirteen Nations Alliance, but even among the other great powers of the continent.

Compared to Ye Xuan, all the other geniuses in his Dongsheng Kingdom—aside from that strangely-originating Ye Fanxing who could barely compare—were like ordinary stones next to a Profound Stone. They were not on the same level at all.

This was evident from how Ye Xuan had instantly killed two of Dongsheng Kingdom’s disciples before they could even react.

As shock filled his heart, the sheer terror of Ye Xuan’s potential also made Li He’s killing intent surge. A heaven-defying genius like this had to be killed on the spot today. Otherwise, if he was allowed to grow, he would become an endless source of trouble.

At this thought, Li He frantically channeled the Profound Power in his body. The Three-Stars water buffalo martial soul above his head roared at the sky, and combining it with his Third Grade Soul Power, he poured everything into the Profound Treasure, the Celestial Net Circle.

The light radiating from the Celestial Net Circle instantly intensified, its power rapidly increasing.

Ye Xuan was already having some difficulty blocking with his Dragon Pattern Sword. Now, with Li He going all out, he immediately felt the Profound Power within him starting to buckle.

’There really is a gap between Tier Four and Tier Five Profound Power, and he has a martial soul to boost his. It’s a bit of a struggle to block all his attacks with just the Dragon Pattern Sword.’

Although he knew he could block Li He’s attacks by releasing his own martial soul, Ye Xuan didn’t do so. Instead, he pulled back his defensive posture with the Dragon Pattern Sword slightly.

The only reason he had been tangling with Li He for so long was to gauge his own strength. It now seemed that, having cultivated the Nine Mystics World-Annihilation Art, his Profound Power intensity was in no way weaker than a Tier Five Martial Sect’s, even though he was only at the Tier Four First Layer.

Having confirmed this, Ye Xuan had already lost interest in continuing the fight with Li He.

Seeing Ye Xuan’s assault slow, Li He was overjoyed. In his eyes, this meant Ye Xuan was finally collapsing under his attacks. Thinking this, he channeled power into the Celestial Net Circle even more frenziedly, wanting to press his advantage and kill Ye Xuan in one fell swoop.

"Haha, boy! Let’s see you escape from under my Celestial Net Circle now!"

Li He laughed wildly.

Hearing Li He’s arrogant words, a mocking look appeared on Ye Xuan’s face. "You think you’re the only one with a Profound Treasure?"

Before the words had even faded, and before Li He could react, a black grinding disc had already appeared in Ye Xuan’s hand. The black disc grew with the wind, rapidly expanding until it was the size of a round table, and then it smashed toward the Celestial Net Circle.

The two Profound Treasures collided swiftly in mid-air.

BOOM! With a single smash from the black grinding disc, Li He’s Celestial Net Circle trembled violently. Knocked off balance, it was sent flying back several dozen meters. In contrast, Ye Xuan’s black grinding disc stood as firm and unmoving as a mountain.

Li He turned pale with shock. He had never imagined that Ye Xuan would also possess a Profound Treasure, and one with such immense power.

He immediately cried out ’Impossible!’ in his heart. Then, as he got a clear look at the Profound Treasure, Li He was stunned once again.

"That black grinding disc... could it be President Wu Xu’s Chaotic Heaven and Earth Grinding Disc from the Earth Stone Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower?"

Li He spoke in disbelief. Looking closely, he saw that the black grinding disc Ye Xuan was using was indeed identical to President Wu Xu’s.

Li He knew President Wu Xu of the Earth Stone Kingdom. He was a Tier Four Peak Celestial Martial Artist. How could his Profound Treasure have fallen into Ye Xuan’s hands? Could it be...

An ominous thought immediately surfaced in Li He’s mind.

But before he could dwell on it, the black grinding disc controlled by Ye Xuan was already pressing down on him again with immense force.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Deafening roars echoed between heaven and earth. Under the crushing power of the Chaotic Heaven and Earth Grinding Disc, the Celestial Net Circle trembled and retreated continuously. Streaks of black light shot out in all directions. It was like a child facing the blows of an adult, able only to back away.

Li He was both furious and terrified. Even if the black disc Ye Xuan controlled was President Wu Xu’s Chaotic Heaven and Earth Grinding Disc, he had seen Wu Xu use it before, and it was never this terrifyingly powerful. What was going on?

But Li He had no time to ponder such things. Under Ye Xuan’s assault, the Profound Power in his body churned violently, and the Celestial Net Circle was trembling madly. It clearly couldn’t hold out for much longer.

Once the Celestial Net Circle gave way, he would be in grave danger.

Thinking this, Li He gritted his teeth. A red bead suddenly appeared in his hand, and he hurled it viciously toward Ye Xuan.

BOOM! A torrential flame erupted, instantly swelling to several meters in diameter, perfectly engulfing Ye Xuan.

As the dense flames spread, the trees, bushes, and even rocks within its range were instantly scorched and then turned to ash.

"Haha! You dare fight me, boy? You’re still too green!"

Seeing his fire-bead hit its target, Li He was ecstatic. This fire-bead was a Tier Five treasure he had acquired from some ruins long ago. When detonated, its power was equivalent to a full-force strike from a Tier Five Second Layer Martial Sect.

Moreover, the fire-bead had a special characteristic: the closer to the center, the greater its power.

Just now, Ye Xuan had made no attempt to dodge and had been caught in the very center of the blast. If it had been him, he would have been instantly and severely injured, let alone a mere disciple like Ye Xuan.

The heart that had been lodged in Li He’s throat finally dropped back into place.

At that very moment, the black grinding disc hovering in mid-air suddenly descended, its power abruptly surging. With a loud BOOM, it smashed into Li He, sending him stumbling backward. He spat out a mouthful of blood as his Profound Veins shattered.

The flames dissipated. Ye Xuan, who had been hit by the fire-bead, walked out completely unscathed, his expression indifferent.

’How is this possible!’

Li He couldn’t believe what was happening.

How could he have known that if he had thrown an attack of any other element, it might have injured Ye Xuan? But a fire attack was the one thing that would not work.

The instant the flames had erupted, Ye Xuan had activated his Endless Molten Flame, forming an invisible shield of fire in front of him. With the defense of the Endless Molten Flame, how could Li He’s Tier Five fire-bead possibly harm him?

’Damn!’

Li He knew he had to escape. The kid was immune to even the fire-bead. If he stayed any longer, he would surely die.

But just as that thought crossed his mind, Ye Xuan’s black grinding disc had already descended again.

"We can talk about this!"

Li He screamed in terror.

But why would Ye Xuan listen to him? With a cold sneer, the black grinding disc fell relentlessly. BANG! BANG! BANG! Finally, after more than ten collisions, Li He’s Celestial Net Circle was brutally sent flying.

WAH!

Li He coughed up another mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground. The Profound Veins in his body were in chaos, and he could no longer muster a shred of Profound Power.

A trace of despair flashed in Li He’s eyes. To think he would die here, killed by a boy he had utterly looked down upon.

SPLAT! The black grinding disc fell, crushing Li He directly into a pile of meat paste.

Xia Qixi stared blankly as the black grinding disc under Ye Xuan’s control instantly pulverized Li He. At this moment, she completely forgot her own predicament, her mind filled only with the image of Ye Xuan’s tall, unyielding figure.

"You... You actually killed Li He, the Vice President of the Dongsheng Kingdom’s Soul Master Tower?" After a long moment, Xia Qixi finally came to her senses, her voice filled with shock.

Ye Xuan glanced at Xia Qixi and said flatly, "What? He was trying to kill me. Are you saying I wasn’t allowed to kill him back?"

Hearing Ye Xuan’s cold tone, Xia Qixi immediately knew he had misunderstood and quickly explained, "No, that’s not what I meant. I meant, how did you have the strength to kill Li He?"

She simply couldn’t imagine how a boy under twenty could kill the Vice President of the Soul Master Tower from one of the five great kingdoms, Dongsheng. It completely shattered her understanding of the world, no matter how talented a genius might be.

"I think what you should be concerned about right now isn’t this, but putting your clothes back on."

After saying this, Ye Xuan paid her no more mind, instead walking over to collect Li He’s Storage Ring and the Celestial Net Circle.

Only then did Xia Qixi realize her own clothes were in complete disarray. Her bare skin was exposed in many places, her garments barely covering her body. Her face instantly flushed crimson. Panicked and ashamed, she hastily raised her hands, trying to pull up her clothes to cover her half-exposed shoulders.

But her injuries were too severe. Her slender hand had barely lifted the fabric an inch before she could no longer move. The clothes she had halfway raised fell back down, revealing even more of her skin.

Xia Qixi was so flustered she was on the verge of tears.

After collecting Li He’s treasures, Ye Xuan noticed Xia Qixi was still frozen in place and frowned. "Are you not done yet?"

Embarrassed and flustered, Xia Qixi blushed and said shyly, "I... I don’t have the strength."

Ye Xuan shook his head. He walked over to Xia Qixi and swept his perception over her. Only then did he realize that her injuries were indeed extremely severe. No wonder she hadn’t moved.